Groundwater is a vital resource to each of us – individuals, communities and our businesses. It’s the water we drink, it grows our food and recharges rivers and lakes. It’s so very important to do your part at your home with your private well and help keep it clean!

As you may know, groundwater is water found underground in cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock. These underground stores of water are called aquifers. Groundwater is critically important to daily living. Of all the Earth’s water that is readily available for use by humans, 98 percent is groundwater and over half of the population relies on groundwater for drinking water, including nearly all of the country’s rural residents.

Most people don’t realize the impact they can have on groundwater. Anything poured or spilled onto the ground’s surface can end up in the groundwater supply, even years later, and contaminated groundwater can ruin human and animal health, while overuse can lead to shortages in the water supply.

In that same manner it’s important to keep your well maintained. Although there are no laws or regulations that require private well owners to test their well water annually, there are many good reasons to do so including:

* Ensure a safe and reliable source of drinking water.

* Identify existing problems which may or may not change the smell, or the taste of your water.

* Track changes over time.

* When loaning money to a property buyer, mortgage lenders often require that well water be tested for contaminants.

What can you do as an individual to maintain your private well and protect your drinking water?

* Learn about the most common water quality problems affecting wells in your area. Consult your local health department or Natural Resources District for more information.

* Store and mix fertilizers and pesticides on a surface that can’t be penetrated and ensure any spillage cannot reach the area around your well.

* Do not apply fertilizers and pesticides within 10 feet of your well to keep it from becoming contaminated.

* Find out more about your well – when it was constructed, if it meets current standards, what kind of casing was used, etc.

* Keep a record of information about your well. Update these records as information changes.

* And, of course, regularly test your well water. Contact your local health department or the Nebraska Health and Human Services Drinking Water Program or UNL Extension to find out what tests should be done, request a test kit and answer your private well questions.

Every individual has a responsibility to protect groundwater, because every individual is impacted daily by the quality and quantity available.

Written by Brian Reetz with the Nebraska Groundwater Foundation. The Groundwater Foundation (GWF) is a nonprofit organization that educates people and inspires action to ensure sustainable, clean groundwater for future generations.

Bats are among the most misunderstood animals.  Because they are secretive and active only at night, bats are often feared and needlessly killed.  Contrary to common myths, bats are neither blind nor dirty. They do not get caught in people's hair or infest homes with bedbugs.  Like other mammals, a few (less than 0.5 percent) contract rabies. But even rabid bats rarely become aggressive or transmit the disease to other animals. When people are harmed by bats, it is usually because they have foolishly picked up a sick bat that bites in self-defense. Records show that pet dogs are far more dangerous.

Bats Are Valuable

One bat may eat 3,000 or more insects, including many mosquitoes, in a single night. Large bat colonies can consume billions. The Blowing Wind Cave colony of gray bats in northern Alabama, numbering roughly 300,000 individuals, eats up to a billion insects nightly!

Fruit-eating bats are nature's most important seed-dispersing mammals. And nectar-eating bats, along with some fruit bats that visit flowers, pollinate thousands of tropical and subtropical trees and shrubs. The extensive list of valuable fruits, nuts, and spices produced by bat-dependent plants includes peaches, bananas, mangoes, guavas, avocados, dates, figs, cashews, carob, and cloves.

Bats use highly sophisticated sonar for navigation, and they are exceptionally long-lived and disease resistant. Consequently, they are becoming increasingly important for research. In the southwestern United States, 100,000 tons of bat guano (bat droppings) was mined from a single cave. Guano continues to be a major source of fertilizer in developing countries, where it is used to fertilize a number of crops.

Bat Biology

Bats, like human beings, are mammals. They have hair and give birth to young that feed on milk produced by the mother bats.

Bats are the only mammals that truly fly, and they make their living by capturing insects. Most of their feeding is done at night although they may fly in the early evening and during daylight hours on warm winter days.

Although they have good eyesight, they use echolocation (sonar) to navigate and capture insects. Bats emit high-frequency sound pulses (human beings cannot hear them) at a rate of 3 to 500 per second. By listening to the echoes, they can "see with their ears."

Most birds that catch insects "on the wing" use their mouths or beaks. Bats usually capture insects by scooping them into their tail or wing membranes. They then reach down and take the insects into their mouths. This feeding behavior results in the erratic flight pattern you see when watching a bat feed at dusk. Bats drink by skimming close to the surface of a water source and gulping occasional mouthfuls.

Most female bats produce one offspring per year. Alabama bats breed in autumn, and the female stores the sperm until spring, when fertilization takes place. Gestation is short, lasting only a few weeks, and baby bats are born in May or June. The young can fly 2 to 5 weeks after birth. Bats are long-lived for their small size: they can live 30 years or longer.

Few insects are available during the winter, so bats must migrate to warmer areas where there are more insects. Bats that do not migrate must hibernate to survive. Hibernation is a state of inactivity during which the nominal body functions are greatly reduced. For example, a bat's temperature drops from the normal 100 degrees F to between 40 degrees and 60 degrees F during hibernation. The heart rate slows from 1,000 beats per minute to 12 to 15 per minute. During hibernation, bats live off of stored fat reserves.  Many bats in Alabama hibernate in caves during the winter and move to buildings or trees in the summer. Tree bats roost in trees in summer and move into hollow trees or caves in the winter.

When Bats Meet People

Human Habitat. Occasionally a bat may wander into human living quarters. To prevent this occurrence, cover chimneys and vents with hardware cloth screens, install draft guards beneath appropriate doors, and seal other access holes, especially around windows and plumbing.

Large colonies of bats in attics or walls can become a nuisance and might require eviction. In these instances, observe the bats carefully at dusk to find their entry-holes. Plug these holes while the bats are out feeding or during their winter absence. Poisons used against "house bats" are costly and ineffective, and they often create problems far worse than those they are supposed to solve.

Millions of bats have been killed by people who explore caves. Although some people intentionally kill bats, many others are unaware of the damage they do. Each human entry into a winter hibernating cave causes bats to arouse and waste 10 to 30 days of stored fat reserve. Hibernating bats must conserve their limited fat supplies until spring or face starvation. In the summer, flightless young may be dropped or abandoned when human beings disturb nursery roosts.

The relatively few caves that shelter bats are seldom used year-round. Warm summer nursery caves should not be explored from April through September. Colder hibernation caves should be avoided from late August through mid-May. Many important caves have signs explaining when they can be visited without harm to the bats.

What Can You Do To Help Bats?

• Never shoot, poison, or otherwise harm bats. Bats are extremely beneficial insect-eaters. Nuisance bats can be encouraged to move elsewhere without killing them.

• Avoid maternity colonies and hibernating bats. Disturbances, no matter how slight, can be harmful.

• Do not disturb bat habitats. Cave habitats are fragile and easy to disturb. If you enter caves, do so only as an observer. Leave everything as you found it. Remember, disturbing endangered bats is a federal offense and carries serious penalties.

• Put up a bat house. They are easy to build and can attract bats to help control insects around your home and garden.

Although generally considered a recent invader, armadillos were found as far north as Rogers County, Oklahoma, in the 1930s. They reach a mature weight of 8 to 17 pounds. Tracks indicate four toes on each front foot and five on the hind feet. Females produce a litter, most commonly four, of monosex siblings in March or April. Young are weaned in three months.

Armadillos forage by probing leaf litter and the soil surface with their snout to locate prey. The majority of their diet includes invertebrates (beetles, ants, termites, millipedes, roaches, crickets, grasshoppers, earthworms, snails, slugs, larvae, etc.) that live in soil, leaf litter, and rotten wood. Minor food items include lizards, small snakes, salamanders, eggs, mushrooms and other fungi, and fruits (grape, mulberry, plum, persimmon, juniper, etc.). The distribution of armadillos in southern Kansas and Missouri probably represents their northern limit because of their difficulty in foraging on frozen ground.

Home ranges for adults reportedly vary from 8 to 27 acres. 'Dillos usually dig several dens, up to 15 feet long, within their home range. At least one den has a nest chamber, usually lined with vegetation. Entrances to adults' tunnels are about 7 inches in diameter. Armadillos are generally nocturnal during hot weather but diurnal (active during the day) in cold weather.

Predators include dogs, coyotes, and bobcats, but automobiles kill many armadillos. Their ability to harbor the human leprosy bacterium has made them important biomedical research animals.

Armadillos damage peanut, corn, and cantaloupe crops, but mostly lawns, golf courses, flower beds, and gardens by rooting in them. They characteristically dig small, shallow holes to search for food, sometimes uprooting ornamental plants. Skunks occasionally cause similar damage, which can be mistaken for that of 'dillos. Damage is most intense to landscapes irrigated during drought: the relatively soft, moist soil harbors more food than the surrounding sun-baked land.

The most direct control method is shooting, since they are not a protected species. This option may not be legal, safe, or socially acceptable in some suburban locations. During summer, nocturnal activity patterns are unpredictable, which may require all-night vigils. Various mesh-wire fencing designs can be effective, especially if they include a buried-wire portion. However, the aesthetics and cost of a fence must be weighed against the damage incurred.

Armadillos can be trapped in well-constructed box or cage traps. Those that open at both ends (double-door) work best. The use of "wings" to funnel armadillos to the trap opening is the key to success. Wings can be made of whatever is handy, including lumber (e.g., 1" x 6"), mesh wire, and plastic fencing material. Take advantage of existing barriers such as fencing, house walls, or curbing as well. Wing length is not critical, but the more travel routes excluded, the better. Traps set in this manner do not need bait. Conibear 220 traps are an effective killing trap but are illegal to use in Oklahoma. Even where their use is legal, only very experienced personnel should use them in suburban settings because of the danger to pets or small children.

This article was contributed by Grant Huggins of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.

Honestly, did any of you visualize your barn or shop as I was describing this one.

About five years ago, I became a member of our town's volunteer fire department. Firefighter I certification requires us to recognize hazardous materials. Sounds like it would be hard to find hazardous materials, doesn't it? Truth be told, if you took all the materials commonly found in your barn or shop and placed them on the side of the road, you'd have to call a hazardous materials response team to clean them up. Grease, old oil, parts solvent, pesticides, antifreeze and other materials all need special handling, storage and disposal.

Used motor oil

While not a controlled hazardous material, used oil contains heavy metals and is toxic to many plants and animals. The Environmental Protection Agency now uses the slogan "You dump it, you drink it" to emphasize the harmful effects of illegal disposal methods. Look for oil recycling programs where you can return your used motor oil and oil filters.

Antifreeze

Ethylene glycol is usually found in antifreeze, and it is poisonous. Children and animals are attracted to its bright color and sweet smell. Store antifreeze in sealed containers in a cool, secure location. Never dump antifreeze into septic tanks, storm drains or directly onto the ground. Treat all spills with an absorbent such as kitty litter, and dispose of the absorbent in a sealed bag in the trash.

Pesticides

First and always, read the label! Are you storing your pesticides according to the labeled directions? Are you storing them in a locked, well-ventilated room? Label windows and doors to alert firefighters to the presence of pesticides and other products stored in the structure. It is always a good idea to keep a list of the stored chemicals and amounts in a separate location. Did I happen to mention you need to read the label?

Other materials

How are you storing grease, paint, automatic transmission fluid, solvents and diesel fuel? Some are flammable, others toxic, still others relatively harmless. Read the material safety data sheets (MSDS) that are available from the manufacturers. MSDS cover proper medical precautions, storage, handling and disposal methods required for each substance.

Do you know what to do in case of a fire or accident at your barn or shop? Take time to visit with your fire department and discuss precautions you can take. Knowing the hazards and following the storage and use guidelines keeps everyone safe. This is especially true of hazardous materials around the barn and shop.

This article was contributed by David Annis of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation

The range of the Eastern cottontail rabbit includes the entire United States east of the Rocky Mountains; it's found in both urban and rural areas in Nebraska. Cottontails in rural areas spend their entire lives on just a few acres, while cottontails in urban areas may not venture far from a single backyard.

Cottontails are vulnerable in the wintertime. To withstand cold temperatures and predation, they find shelter under brush piles, dense shrubs or buildings. They cannot dig, but will hide in cavities dug by other animals. Cottontails are more vulnerable to predators when there is snow on the ground because the gray-brown cottontail does not turn white, like their cousin, the snowshoe hare.

Rabbits have unique digestive systems allowing them to get nourishment when only low nutrient foods are available during winter. Rabbits have a unique, somewhat disgusting, behavior, known as “coprophagy,” in which they eat their own feces to gain nutrients that weren’t absorbed the first time through.

Unlike squirrels, cottontail rabbits do not hide food for the winter. When the ground is covered with snow for long periods, rabbits often severely damage home landscape plants, orchards, forest plantations and park trees and shrubs. Young plants may be clipped off at snow height, but large trees and shrubs may be completely girdled. If they survive the winter, they eat flowers and vegetables in spring and summer. The most commonly eaten plants are: tulips, pansies, hybrid lilies, hosta and asters. A rabbit's tastes in food can vary considerably, but they do like to eat plants in the rose family. This very large family includes strawberries, raspberries,  apples, pears, plums, and peaches. A few ornamentals in this family include potentilla, spirea, crabapple, serviceberry and hawthorne.

Cottontails begin mating as early as February and continue throughout the summer. They are very prolific. The average production is three or four litters a year, with four or five young per litter. In urban settings, dogs and cats are their primary predators.

Article written by Barb Ogg, UNL Extension Educator

1.  Install Firebreaks - Construct and maintain firebreaks around the perimeter of your forest to help keep fire from entering your property.  Interior firebreaks can help contain wildfire in isolated areas.  Firebreaks can also allow for easier access on your property providing trails for both recreational use and utility.  Your state Forestry Commission can assist you in learning more about firebreak construction.

2.  Prescribed Burns - Use of controlled fire is one of the best methods of reducing hazardous fuels, therefore reducing damages to your forest in an event of a wildfire.  Again, your state Forestry Commission will have a list of service providers to assist land owners with prescribed burns.

3.  Mitigate Along the Edge - Reduce hazardous accumulations of flashy fuels along roadways and property entrances where arson fires are most likely to be ignited.  Remove scrubby vegetation, and mow or brush cut the area.  This reduces wildfire risk and will make your property look better at the same time....

4.  Limit Access - Install gates to limit unwanted access to your property.  Post your telephone number should someone need to contact you.  This will help not only with fire but with protect you against timber theft, poaching, and vandalism.  Many state forestry commissions provide an arson/forest crimes hotline to report such crimes.

5.  Partner with Others - Become part of your community's wildlife protection efforts.  Get involved with your local volunteer fire department and your local forestry office to plan for wildfire protection.  If you do not live on your property full time, take the time to know you neighbors and ask if they would watch out for your property.  Be mindful of what rights you are giving them, if any, such as hunting on your land or cutting trees for firewood.  Remember it is in the best interest of their property that nothing happens to yours.....and no good steward of the earth wants to see any trees go up in flames.

What exactly is a conservation easement?

In a nutshell, a conservation easement is a binding legal contract between a landowner and another group (often called the easement holder) that ensures conservation is maintained on a given piece of property.  Easement holders can be in the form of local, state, or federal government agencies, or non profit organizations known often as land trusts.  The protected property or easement is still owned by the landowner but the easement restrictions stay with the property.  You will often hear the term that conservation easements are granted in "perpetuity" - this simply means that the easement is forever and if the landowner sells his or her property, the conservation easement stands and continues with the new ownership.

What are the benefits of a conservation easement?

In addition to significant income tax incentives both on the federal and state level and a reduction of property taxes, conservation easements are a great way to protect your property and keep it in its current state for future generations.

What does it cost?

The biggest cost to the landowner will be in the development potential that might be lost.  Landowners are also responsible for the costs usually associated with any land transaction such as attorney fees, surveys, and appraisals.  Landowners must pay for a qualified appraisal in order to receive tax credits.  Additionally, land owners might have to provide the easement holder with a "stewardship endowment" or donation to help cover the cost of taking care of the easement.

What does the landowner give up in this scenario?

Although each easement is negotiated individually between the parties, typically giving up the right to develop and the right to change natural features are included with a conservation easement......basically, it can include anything that will alter the property from its natural state or be harmful to the land.  Having said that, many conservation easement agreements do allow for additional structures to be built (as long as it is not for development purposes) and they do allow for ongoing agricultural or forestry operations to continue.  All of this is usually spelled out in the Land Use and Management Plan that comes with the conservation easement.

How does a landowner go about doing this?

Any landowner can place an easement on their property, and there is no minimum or maximum size requirements.  Having said that, a tract of land must meet conservation purposes as defined by the IRS in order to qualify as a charitable gift and to receive federal tax incentives.  For state tax incentives, the land must meet individual state requirements typically defined by the state DNR.  For the landowner, the first step is to find an organization or agency interested in becoming the easement holder.  Most states have a state land trust organization that identifies all qualified organizations to hold conservation easements.  If you have trouble finding that information, please comment below and we will help point you in the right direction.

So how does it work?

Any private landowner is eligible and there are no restrictions on the size of the project.  Having said that, according to the USFWS, special consideration is given to projects that have longer duration agreements, involve non service partnerships and cost sharing, and those that are the most cost effective. Under such programs landowners agree to maintain and manage habitats for at least ten years, although some projects may require longer periods of time.

Examples of Projects

• Restore wetland quality by plugging drainage ditches, breaking tile drainage systems, installing water control structures, dike construction, and reestablishing old connections with waterways
• Plant native trees, grasslands, shrubs and other vegetation
• Install fencing to keep livestock out of streams and allow for restoration and repair of stream and stream-side areas
• Remove invasive plants and animals that compete with native fish and wildlife and alter their natural habitats
• Use prescribed burning as a method of removing invasive species and restoring native plants
• Mechanically restore in-stream native aquatic habitat

To learn more about this program, you can contact your local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office or visit their website here

In deciding to use firewood or not, you need to answer the following questions:

• Which trees should be cut?
• How much firewood will you need?
• When is a good time to cut trees?
• Should you dry, then split or split it first?
• Will it ruin my woods by cutting out for firewood?
• What is the availability of the fuel source?
• Are you using an indoor wood stove or an outdoor boiler?
• Are there transportation and storage issues?

Which trees should be cut?

Before beginning the process, take a look at your woods.  You want to make sure that the desire to cut firewood is compatible with both wildlife and aesthetics.  While cutting firewood can be detrimental to the value of your woods, it can also be a great opportunity to thin a stand that will ultimately enhance your timber value and be beneficial to wildlife as well.  One suggestion is to look for trees which are damaged or showing signs of disease.  Many landowners decide to cut straight trees because they are easier to split by hand but those are sometimes the best trees to keep.   Trees chosen to be kept should always be marked clearly to avoid error in the process of cutting.

Whether you are using an indoor stove or an outdoor boiler will also determine what type of trees to be cut.  Outdoor boilers have greater flexibility with regard to species of trees used because they have thermostats to regulate water flow and air supply.  According the folks at Cornell, only fully seasoned hardwoods such as red maples, hickory, oak, or ash (to name just a few) should be used for indoor stoves.  Softer woods such as pine should be used "sparingly, if not at all".

Avoid cutting trees that are home to wildlife nests or dens.  Avoid cutting trees that are protecting streams or wet areas.  Too much to consider?  There are professionals to help.  Folks who work for agencies such as state forestry commissions, and the Department of Environmental Conservation can assist you.....and it usually won't cost you.

How much firewood will you need?

If firewood is your sole source of heating, 12-15 acres of woods properly managed can provide 4-5 cords of wood.  This amount is enough to heat most average sized houses for a year in New York.  Having said that, geographic location, larger than normal dwellings, and the efficiency of the insulation of a house can greatly reduce or increase the amount of wood needed.

To read the article in its entirety, see "How to Choose Firewood Trees"

According to Sharon Skipton, a University of Nebraska extension educator, everyone can and should do something to protect groundwater. We all have a stake in maintaining its quality and quantity.  Here are a few bits of information and tips you should know about:

• 95 percent of all available fresh water comes from aquifers underground.
• Most surface water bodies are connected to groundwater.
• Many public water systems draw all or part of their supply from groundwater.
• If you own a well to provide water for your family, groundwater protection is doubly important. As a well owner, you are the manager of your own water system. Protecting groundwater will help reduce risks to your water supply.

There are two fundamental categories of groundwater protection: keeping it safe from contamination and using it wisely.

Actions you can take to reduce the risk of groundwater contamination include the following:

• Use hazardous substances sparingly and according to directions.
• Store fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides in a secure place and use according to manufacturer’s directions.
• Stay current with your septic system inspection and pumping.
• Have unused wells in poor condition properly decommissioned. Check with your Natural Resources District for cost-share programs.
• Have well water tested annually for bacteria and nitrate as well as other suspected contaminants. Manage contaminants if necessary.

Information compiled by Sharon Skipton, University of Nebraska Extension Service